Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-10-22
QUEER THINGS TO EAT.
an Odd Kettle OF Fish Recommended By
CommIssi0ner ssiaosxford.

an Odd Kettle OF Fish Recommended By
Commissioners nlacssford.
'Have you ever tasted the flesh Of n
shark or reveled in deviiish stewP II
not, you are only half an epicure."
So said State Fish Commissioner
Eugene G. BIackfor.l.
sAll fish are edible" he continued;
''but popular prejudice adjulges some
10 be unfit to cook. Who would ever
dream of eating toadfsh? The APP.
pcarancc Of the creature, with liz
hileous heal and brown. spotted skin.
Is sufficient to take away any mans
appetite; yet the flesh of toadlish is
tender and palatable. W.ien fried IL
tastes very much like porgy. Sharks
are also excellent eating. They are
very plentiful In these waters, and il
people could he brought 10 believe
that their flesh is wholesome and
agreeable TO the taste. an excellent
fish would be sold in ths market
al prices so cheap that the poorest
man could buy it. Sharks flesh is
firm, and in taste is hardly distin-
guishable from haiibut A delicious
soup can be made from the fins. The
meat is best when boiled or fried In
oil. The devi!-6sh. or giant sqnid. is
the same creature of which Victor
Hugo es in his novel, ''The Toilers
Of the Sea-" 1t Is known 10 scientists
rs the octopus. In appearance it is a
horrible mons er, with hugo head
and body furnished with snake-like
feelcr@, which sometimes grow TO be
thirty feet in length. and arc as pow
Crful in their grasp as the folds of
b)a-constrictor."
"You do not mean to tell me that
the flash of such creature Is edibleP'
1T is simply delicious when proper
ly prepared. 1t should bs cut into
small pieces and stewed with herbs.
il becomes thpn q jelly-lika substance
Of delicate flavor that melts in the
mouth. re gard the flesh Of a devil
fshsas delcacY. There is another
species OF devil-fsh which resembles a
skate or ray-fsh The largest Of them
weigh from one hundrc TO one hum
bred and fifty pounds. ii is excellent
eating when boiled, tasting like q tur-
bot On the banks Of Newfoundlan
and off the Massachusetts, coast where
Goldfish are caught, some hideous sea
monsters are captured by the fisher
men. The most savage is the wolf
fish. 1t has a large head and wide,
rinins1c animal xrifh
like teeth. In weight it
averages twelve pounds. Fish
ermen regard it as dangerous
creature to handle. for with one snap
of is jaws il ca snip OF a mans finger
or hand. When boiled the wolf fish is
almost as palatable as hallock. 1t
closely resembles the cod in size. APP
pearance and flavor, but is not regard
ed as q good fish on account of tho re-
marIabfe thickness Of the skin. :"
"Are sea-robins AMI goosc-fsh good
ca..n2p'
J "Vcs; aintyl There in no better pam
fish in the world than sea robin. To
be sure it consists almost entirely of
fins, so much that many people con-
found it with the fving- fish, but what
flesh there is upon its bon $ is delicate,
tasting very much like sea bass. The
goose-iish is remarkably ugly to look
Mt, but fairly good eating when boiled.
It is nearly all mouth, 50 that although
it weighs often twelve or fifteen
pounds, ono or two persons
could eat an entire fish. The angle
fish is another strange creature of the
deep which could be made popular
food fish if the public could be brought
to understand the excellent quality Of
its flesh. 1t runs generally from three
TO six pounds in weight, and resembles
the sheepsheal When baked or boiled
it is fully equal In flavor TO the Sleeps
head. The fetish, when boiled,
tastes like the haddock. 1t was first
caught in American waters off the
coast of Massachusetts,. about six years
ago. 1t haunts very deep waters, and
is not often taken The triple tail OIL
Hack perch weighs, on an average,
Ten pounds. Its meat is firm ano
white, and resembles the black fish il
flavor. The proof of the pudding il
in the eating is an old maxim and ;
truc one. have eaten the flesh o
every fish l have referred to, an(
know that my words are true by nc
tual experience. IN y Mail an.
LG2reSs.
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